Sprinklings of history, a smidgen of genealogy, a dash of art & a dusting of architecture, all mixed together with my eccentric fascinations

27 June 2013

How Cambodians earn a buck

These are just some of the ways the people of Cambodia
earn their living.

Fisherman

Fish is a staple in the diet of the average
Cambodian. Much of the population lives near water, whether it’s the mighty
Mekong river, Tonle Sap – the largest freshwater
lake in southeast Asia, or one of the smaller rivers that crisscross the
countryside. Surprisingly, though, the average Cambodian doesn’t have to live close
to a large waterway to eat fish regularly, as they have dug shallow ponds,
large and small, almost everywhere. Both planned aquaculture and the floods of
the rainy season help spread fish into these small ponds, where they survive into
the height of the dry season and provide much needed protein to impoverished
locals. Most fishing is done by simply throwing a net into the water.

Fishseller

This woman was one of many locals selling a huge
variety of fish at the large and rather smelly local market in Kampot, a
seaside town on the Gulf
of Thailand where fishing
forms a large part of the local economy. An estimated 5000 motorised wooden
longboats fish the marine waters along Cambodia’s coastline, which extends from
Thailand in the north to Vietnam in the south (FAO, 2004), and the majority of
the fish caught are mackerel and anchovies.

Farmer’s
wife

Life is hard for the average Cambodian, who lives
in impoverished conditions in the countryside. Cambodia is one of the
world’s poorest countries, with a current ranking of 139 out of the 187 countries listed on the United
Nations Human Development Index. An estimated 36% of the population lives below
the poverty line, and rural households, especially those whose income is
primarily based on subsistence agriculture, make up over 90% of the poor. It is
still common for women and children to scavenge for frogs, snails, rats and
various insects to supplement their daily intake of rice. More about the life
of this particular woman can be read here.

Fruitseller

As well as rice, fish and vegetables, fruit forms an important part of the local diet. Staples like bananas are available year
round, with a huge variety of other fruit for sale on a seasonal basis, including mangoes, papayas, rambutan, jackfruit, pineapple, lychee, watermelon, mangosteen,
longan, durian and palm fruit. This elderly woman was
selling her fruit on the entrance causeway to Angkor Wat when I visited last
weekend.

Lotus
pod seller

Another, rather unusual food to be found in Cambodia is the
seed of the lotus plant. These can be eaten raw – you simply break open the
pods that this young woman is selling, and eat the small oval seed inside,
though it is best to remove the tiny shoot in the middle as it can be quite
bitter. These seeds are crunchy, a little like eating raw peas, though not as
sweet, and are very nutritious, being low in saturated fat and cholesterol but
high in protein, manganese and various other minerals. The seeds can also be dried
and shelled, to be eaten as snacks or used to make a variety of dessert
dishes.

Iceblock
man

What kid doesn’t love a cold iceblock on a hot
day? And, while there are many many hot days in Cambodia, there is not so much
refrigeration equipment. So, commercially made iceblocks like we find available
in most western countries only exist in the large cities here. The majority of
kids get their iceblocks from small vendors like this man, who was doing a
roaring trade selling flavoured ice to the local primary school kids from his
specially adapted bicycle.

Confectioner

As one of my great-grandfathers was a confectioner,
I was particularly fascinated to watch the making of this local delicacy, palm
sugar fudge. Slits are cut into the stem of the Palmyra or Date palm to collect the sap,
which is then boiled in big metal bowls over an outdoor stove (made of clay and
fired with bits of wood). The mixture is stirred as it gradually thickens to
become fudge, then poured into small circular palm-leaf moulds to
dry and harden. It is delicious, though extremely sweet.

Stone
carver

Anyone who has visited the World Heritage site of
the Angkor temples can see that stone carving is a centuries-old tradition in Cambodia and,
though a whole generation of artists was annihilated during the Khmer Rouge
years, stone carving is once again a flourishing profession in this country. This
is partly thanks to organisations like Artisans Angkor, which are working to
revive and transmit vocational skills like stone carving to the rural poor. My
photo, however, shows a man who has his own workshop, near the Roulos group of
temples, and sells his masterpieces mostly to passing tourists, though carvings
like this aren’t exactly the lightest of souvenirs to pack in your suitcase.

Stupa
maker

I’m not sure who first said ‘there is money in
death’ but it’s a truism the world over. I met this man, whose speciality is
constructing the burial stupas to be found in huge numbers at every pagoda in Cambodia, while
wandering around Wat Polangka here in Siem Reap. His English was good and he
was happy to explain a little of the building technique and proud to be
photographed in front of his latest construction. The basis of the stupa is bricks
which are mortared together to form the rough shape, then a variety of concrete
moulded shapes are cemented on, before the decorative mouldings are added at
the end.

About Me

I am a writer and photographer; project
manager and English teacher; knitter and genealogist; fungi forayer and bird
watcher; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and child sponsor; tree
lover and cat person; researcher and blogger; nemophilist; and traveller.